Puget Sound is home to dozens of islands. Sue Frause has lived on Whidbey Island since 1975 and still thinks it’s fun taking a ferry to get home. Read about her island’s colorful characters and what makes Whidbey such a unique place.

Rose Woods: In the woods with Shakespeare

“All the world’s a stage,” this one outdoors in Clinton. Rose Woods, founder of Island Shakespeare Fest, on the Storyhouse Stage. Sue Frause photos.

It was only fitting that I met Susannah “Rosie” Woods at a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Whidbey Children’s Theatre. She was the director, and it was a delightful show.

That was springtime, now it’s summer. So what better way for both actors and audiences to enjoy Shakespeare than in the great outdoors? In this case, in an amphitheater called Storyhouse Stage on 30 acres owned by Fritz and Vivian Hull, adjacent to the Chinook land that includes Whidbey Institute and the Whidbey Island Waldorf School.

Rose Woods is a director and writer who has worked in theater and film “for a long time in no particular order.” Her bio includes Director of Performing Arts at San Domenico School in Marin County; Artistic Director for three theater companies in the Bay Area; plus directing, acting and choreographing with professional and youth theater companies across the country. In between, she was both a pastry chef and a chocolatier, saying she’s “as comfortable in a kitchen as on a stage.” One of her favorite film jobs was being the Elf Wrangler in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, starring Tim Allen.

Now Rose is wrangling Shakespeare’s words with the cast members of As You Like It. “It’s a crowd pleaser,” said Rose, walking me around the wooded theater, dappled sunlight framing the stage. It’s appropriate that it’s the Island Shakespeare Fest’s debut production, as it was also the first work performed at Ashland’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As one of his latest comedies, Rose says it’s more along the lines of The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale.

With 50 people auditioning for the 17 spots, the cast is multi-generational, ranging in age from 16 to 70-something. They’ve been rehearsing every day, first indoors at Whidbey Children’s Theatre, and then eventually in the woods. Nature has its own entertainment value: the cast has been enjoying the antics of a resident squirrel named Dennis, along with an owl that shows up to watch the daily rehearsals. They named the strigiform William, or Bill for short. Rose says after each rehearsal, Bill flies away.

The production uses no lights, no electricity, and cast members acquired their own costumes from Whidbey Children’s Theatre, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts and Good Cheer. Rose describes it as “a post modern production, ala Mad Max meets Shakespeare.” Music is by Ian Marsanyi, who I profiled here in a 2009 blog. Oh, and there’s no rain plan, the show will go on.

Although Rose Woods has only been on the island for 18 months, she’s already made her mark. And now with her founding of the Island Sheakespeare Fest, there’s no doubt she’s stickin’ around.

“I’ve come home,” said Rose. “If home is where the heart is, I’m here.”

As You Like It, directed by Rose Woods of Island Shakespeare Fest. July 31-August 1, August 7-8 at Storyhouse Stage in Clinton at 4 PM. Free admission (pass the hat). Sunday, August 15, 1:30 PM at Meerkerk Gardens in Greenbank (fundraiser). Refreshments for sale, theatergoers are invited to BYOP (Bring Your Own Picnic) and a blanket to sit on. Running time is 2.5 hours with intermission. Click on Chinook Lands.